Seoul's unlimited transit pass extended to Guri

A passenger walks through the turnstiles at a subway station in Seoul, April 15. (Yonhap)

Seoul is expanding its Climate Card program to Guri, Gyeonggi Province, just east of the capital, in the latest move to make the eco-friendly monthly transit pass more accessible across the Greater Seoul area.

Officials from the two cities signed off on the decision in a virtual meeting attended by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Guri Mayor Baek Kyung-hyun on Friday, according to the Seoul city government.

Starting Aug. 10, Guri residents can use the pass at 24 subway stops on lines connecting to the city. The date coincides with the opening of a new transit line linking Guri to Subway Line No. 8.

The Climate Card, priced at 62,000 won ($47), offers unlimited access to Seoul's subways, buses and bikes for 30 days. Some 1.85 million passes have sold since the January launch.

Guri, with a population of about 186,000, becomes the seventh municipality outside Seoul to join the Climate Card initiative, following the likes of Incheon, Gimpo and Goyang. The move addresses calls to expand access to areas where many residents commute daily to the capital.

The pass is available in both digital app-based and physical formats. Foreigners without resident registration numbers can purchase physical passes at train stations and convenience stores. Short-term passes for tourists are also available for one to five days.

By Moon Ki-hoon(moonkihoon@heraldcorp.com)